Have you ever landed in a place to find out you arrived just after the town’s can’t-miss event of the year? Well, hopefully that won’t happen again this year. Gadling bloggers racked their brains to make sure our readers don’t overlook the best parties to be had throughout the world in 2013. Below are more than 60 music festivals, cultural events, pilgrimages and celebrations you should consider adding to your travel calendar this year – trust us, we’ve been there.

Above image: Throughout Asia, Lunar New Year is celebrated with lantern festivals, the most spectacular of which is possibly Pingxi. [Photo credit: Creative Commons]

Kumbh Mela, a 55-day festival in India, is expected to draw more than 100 million people in 2013. [Photo credit: Creative Commons]

The annual observance of Ramadan is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Visit Istanbul, Turkey, at this time and see a festival-like atmosphere when pious Muslims break their fasts with lively iftar feasts at night. [Photo credit: Creative Commons]

During Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), family and friends get together to remember loved ones they have lost. Although practiced throughout Mexico, many festivals take place in the United States, such as this festival at La Villita in San Antonio, Texas. [Photo credit: Blogger Libby Zay]

With a week where we’ve added a new blogger to the Gadling fold, I didn’t want to pass up the chance formally give Stephen Greenwood a hearty welcome. He’s going to be dazzling us with posts from his current home in Hong Kong. Tune into his Dim Sum Dialogues.

This has been a busy weekend. With ComFEST, the mega community arts festival taking over Columbus’s Goodale Park and terrific weather for each day of it, it does indeed feel like these are the days to enjoy oneself.

Here are five stories you might have missed:

In Amsterdam, a branch of Russia’s Hermitage Museum opened. Head there and you can see items that once belonged to the Russian court. As Kraig Sean mentioned, what isn’t covered is how the Romanov’s lost power. The thought of the family being lined up against a wall and shot by the Bolsheviks, still gives me pause.

Catherine’s post on Geographic Expeditions deals on travel caught my attention. I highly recommend guided tours. They are worth the money, particularly if your days off are a precious few.

As a New Yorker who sizzles in the summer, Tom is on the lookout for ways out of Manhattan and chances to cool off. He’s summarized the deals he’s found in New England. You don’t have to be a New Yorker to enjoy them.

Also, we’re running a new series on airport layovers. There are a few more to come. Annie’s post on Amsterdam this past week has one tip that did last December.

If you happen to be in Iran and want to have your fortune told, you’re in luck. The news on the streets, (in the paper-see article by Zahra Hosseinian) is that fortune tellers are on the rise. Tarot cards, reading coffee grounds, or having a love bird pick a poem written by 14th century Persian poet Hafez out of a hat are part of the process. Although fortune telling is not accepted by Islam according to the clerics there, it’s not stopping business. People of all ages and all levels of religious beliefs are heading to soothsayers.

The fortune tellers say that people who come to see them are looking for happiness and security. Security, often meaning love and wealth. That sounds a lot like the reasons anyone would head to a fortune teller. Friends of mine tell fortunes at ComFest. They set up a booth, cover a table with gauzy fabric and take out their Tarot card decks. My friends will read cards for $5 a pop.

The reasons for heading to a fortune teller also sound similar to why people might go in the U.S. Uncertainty about the future. In Iran, one reason for shaky feelings is the relationship Iran is gaining with the West. Hmmm. What is adding to some unshakiness on this side of the globe? Well, I’ll be. The relationship to Iran sort of gives a person pause.

In Iran, one fortune teller charges $21 and it takes about an hour. If you’re looking for a job that will make you loads of money. This one is probably not it. Don’t be a tour guide either.

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